Automatic lock slider for slide fasteners



Feb.22,1949. WMIKULAS ETAL 2,462,528

AUTOMATIC LOCK SLIDER FOR SLIDE FASTENERS Feb. 2z, 1949. w. MIKULAS ETAL 2,462,528

"AUTOMATIC LOCK SLIDER FOR SLIDE FASTENERS Filed March 5, 1945- 5Sheets-Sheet 2 Y FS. :11%.

INVENTORS Y Walk/am Jlz'luas Feb. 22, 1949. w. MIKULAS ET AL 2,462,528

AUTOMATIC LOCK SLIDER FOR SLIDE FASTENERS Filed March 5, 1945 :ssheets-sheet :s

Patented Feb. 22, 1949 UNITED srATes AUTOMATIC LGCK SLIDER FOR SLDEFASTENERS William Mikulas, West Brighton, Staten Island,

N. Y., and Lester L. Jones, Oradell, N. J., assignors to Ccnmar ProductsCorporation, Newark, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey ApplicationMarch 3, 1945, Serial No. 580,750

19 Claims. l

This invention relates to an improved automatic lock slider for slidefasteners.

Slide fasteners comprise two mating slide fas tener stringers (tapeswith mounted fastener elements) brought into and out of meshing ormating relation by the movement of a so-called slider through the slidechannel of which the stringers slide or move. It is necessary toprofvide a suitable locking device for the slider to prevent thestringers accidentally .opening during use. According to one type oflock slider, the locking device is made so as to be entirely auto maticin its locking operation. The common form of automatic lock sliderembodies a locking member on the slider which is normally held in itslocking position yby a spring or its equivalent.

Our present invention relates to an automatic lock slider for slidefasteners which is operative without the use of any spring; .theautomatic lock slider oi our present invention embodies a new principleand mode of operation which depends solely for its automatic functionupon the interaction between a locking member and the slide fastenerstringere. The broad principles of this lock slider are disclosed andclaimed in our Patent No. 2,369,437, patented October 17, 1944; and thepresent application relates to certain improvements in this new type oflock slider.

In the automatic lock slider of our Patent No. 2,369,437, the lockingmember comprises a twoarmed lever fulcrumed on the slider, the arms ofwhich project into the slider channel, one arm being in a position toact upon the fastener elements of the stringers to lock the slider, andthe other arm being in a position to be acted upon by other of thefastener elements of the stringers to operate the locking member. Adiiculty develops when such an automatic lock slider as disclosed insaid patent is to be used with separable bottom stops or with top stopswhich are relatively long; for in such cases the termini of the arms ofthe locking member have to be simultaneously depressed in order topermit passage through the slider of the pin member of a separate bottomstop, thus interfering with such passage, or such termini interfere withthe insertion of a relatively long top stop into the slider channel. Theprime object of our present invention centers about the provision of animproved form of automatic lock slider of the type referred to in whichthis diiiiculty is solved.

It is a further object of the invention to so construct this form ofautomatic lock slider and particularly the locking member thereof thatthe force or forces causing the locking action is or are effectivelyincreased. The locking member to be used in accordance with .the presentinvention is rockably supported by the slider. It has been found thatthe pro-vision of two different iulcra instead of one fulcrum for thelocking (Cl. 2li-205.14)

member makes the control of the latter easier. It` is, therefore,another object of the present invention to so provide such fulcra forthe locking member so that an easier and safe control of the locking andunlocking actions of the locking member is obtained and assured.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing prime objects and such otherobjects as may hereinafter appear, our present invention relates to theautomatic lock slider and its component parts as sought to be defined inthe appended claims and as described in the following specificationtaken together with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of an automatic lock slider embodying theprinciples of the invention, taken in cross-section in the plane of theline I-I of Fig. 2 and showing a portion of the pull member;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of same;

Fig. 3 is a view taken in cross-section in the plane of the line 3-3 ofFig. 2;

4 is a side View taken in cross-section of the upper or front sliderhalf used in the slider of Figs. l to 3 and showing that slider halfbefore assembling;

Fig. 5 is a View of a part of the slider taken in cross-section in theplane of the broken line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a side view of the locking member used in the slider shown inFigs. 1 to 3;

Fig. 7 is a front elevational View of same;

Figs. 8 and 9 are views of parts shown in crosssection on the lines 8--8and 9 9, respectively, of Fig. 6;

Figs. 10A, 10B, and 10C schematically illustrate one kind of forcecausing the slider locking action; and

Fig. 11 is a side view of a modified slider.

Referring now more in detail to the drawings and having reference to theconstructional form shown in Figs. 1 to 10C, and referring rst to Figs.1 to 3, the invention is shown applied to a. conventional type of slidefastener comprising the slider S provided with the interior slidechannel C and the two stringers, s, s, the latter each comprising abeaded tape t with the spaced slide fastener element f, f mountedthereon, the said stringers being adapted to be brought into and out ofmeshing or mating relation by the up and down movement of the slider Sthrough the slide channel C of which the stringers slide or move. Theslide channel C is a Y-shaped channel as best shown in Fig. 2 throughthe stem of which the fastener elements move when meshed or interengagedand through the Y branches of which the fastener elements move when theyare disengaged, as is most clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

According to one form of known structure, the slider S comprises a topsection or front slider V'sin eiect a `continuation thereof.

half I anda 1bottomsection or lower slider half I2, spacedly connectedto provide the slider channel C. This type of slider is reorganized andcombined according to the present invention with the locking member I4.The Slider halves lll .I

and I2 may be united at one end as by riveting, as can best be seen inFig. '1. 'Ihe ffront lslider half i9 is formed with an opening IG 4(seeFig.-2') for receiving the locking member T4. 'Thelatter is supported bya lug i8 on the outer'wall of the front slider half and is rockableabout the terminus of the lug i8, this terminus 2! forming a fulcrum forthe locking member. Under cer tain conditions, which Y-will be discussedfurther below, the llocking member I4 rests for support on the 'wall ofthe liront slider 'half i-; and vthe under vvsurfaces 22 of the lockingkmember I4 vbe- Ving then in Contact with `'the wall of the slider half,the locking member may also rock about the iulcrum 23in the front Wallsurface 2-5 of the slider. The fulcrum '23 is not 'fixed but 'varies inthe 4surface 25.

-`Following out the vprinciples disclosed in our ,said Patent No.2,360,437, the lock-ing member YI4 'comprises a two-armed levervfulcrumed Von Vthe slider S having `"both Vof 'its arms projecting intothe slider channel IC, one xarm Yof the lever terminating in a lockingtooth (or teeth) and "the otherarm o'f the lever terminating in la pointor `surface "of lever application. The fastener ele- -ments f, f, on'the stringers s, s engage the point or surfaces of "lever applicationto move or rock the lever locking'member V4 Vabout its fulcrum to causethe 'locking toothto move 'into engagement `with-another fastenerelement on the stringers n' @and ithus 'automatically .lock 'the slider,and means `are provided consisting of the usual pull, for rocking thelocliing member in its `opposite direction to disengage the lockingLtooth and l.move the ysilder in .opening or closing direction.

lIn the improved structure of the present in- V`vention, ythe lockingmember I4 is a double-clawshaped lever, one arm 24 kof which -terminatesin two locking 4teeth '26, .216 arranged in ystaggered relation rand the`other .arm 3B Yof `which is `provided with the end .28 to which forcesare applied to urge the locking teeth into locking position.

The stringers s, s, of the slide fastener .run through .thesliderchannel C in lsuch 'a way that the locking teeth 2B, 26 are on top or infront of the stringers and .the end v2B of .the arm El! of the lockingmember is at the bottom or in the rear .of `the stringers. Thelockingtooth or teeth and the .point `.or surface of lever lapplication arethus, inthisfimprovedstructure, on opposite sides of Ythe stringersis,s. Also, as will beieatured below, the -area -of application lies justbehind the neck for lso-called diamond of Athe slider, -forming Thisarea of application is thus also localized centrally (along Va medianline) -of the slider. These and other eat'ur'es described below produce'the iadvantages l.whichcharacteri'ze the improved structure of theipifesent invention.

The .following is a detailed `description of the vin'dividua'lslider-iorming Aparts fand of their assembly. Both :the slider fhalvesI0 and l-Zand `the locking member d4 are intended to 'be manuf-actured`bydie casting. Reverting now to Figs. 1 to 3 land Lalso :referring .toFigs. 4 vand 5, the front slider half I0 is providedwithiire openingpost 36 at the opposite side. The lugs I8 and 34 4 are cupssh'aped alscan bev seen ifr'em'Figs. 2 and 3, respectively. The post 36 (see Fig.4) forms a hollovved rivet of non-circular shape (see Fig. 2)

for riveting both slider halves together. The iron't slider half *('seeFig. 2) is provided with two depressions each extending over the areabetween ythe lines 'D and D', the bottom of these Atwo depressionssloping from D and D toward E Eand E and :toward the opening I6, themost reduced bottom thickness below the depression fbeing mar-hed TinFig. 5. As can be seen from Figs. 1 and 2, the -lower or rear sliderhalf I2 has inturned side flanges 42, 42 and is provided with adepression 44 and an opening 46, 48. In assembling 'the slider halves,the opening I4t, 48 receives the .rivet vbody '38 and lprotruding ring410, respectively, of the :post 36 of the -front slider half, andthesliderffsections are riveted togeth'er.

The locking member i4 `best shown in Figs. -3 `and 6-9 comprises theaforesaid double-clawvshaped lever supported by 'the slider at the ful--crumZlI or 23 or both. The arm 24 o' the locking member has an outerportion 49 which as is 'clearly shown in Figs. 3, 7, and 8 is wider thanlthe web 59 thereof and which is designed to hold `a pull tab 51 inposition when secured to the locking member. The web i511 is accordinglyladapted to receive the Ytrunnions of the pull tab l.fri which is thusin l'the usual wa-y pendently attached to the locking member (Fig. 1).VIn Fig. 19, the cross-section of the other larm 3S of the locking'member resembles the elevational lView of va tent, the purpose of this'peculiar Ashape being vdescribed hereinafter.

This 'slider vand locking member are assembled by positioning 'thelocking member I4 in the 'front slider half l, it being inserted fromthe rear vthrough :the opening i6. Then the two slider lhalves I0 "andI2 are riveted together. The arm 3^!! of rthe `locking member is partlyreceived in the depression '44 of 'the rear one of the slider A @wideropeningi4`8. o2 of the front Aslider half together 'with the porhalves"or sections when 'these are united. The portion v"49, 'in addition toholding the pull tab -in place, `also serves to prevent the'lockingmember from collapsing Vwhen'pounded down, as with "an iron. As willbeseen from Fig. 4, the hollowed rivet 36 is 'cast integrally `with theiront slider half. VFrom `a 'comparison of Fig. 4 with Fig. 1, 'it willbe clear that the rivet body 38 is somewhat vlonger than the-opening#46. The excess length and the protruding ring portion 4i) aresufficient to Jexpand and ll any space by which the rivet 'body 3Sclears the Vrivetbody opening 46 and the After assembling, the portionis :applied tending to open the slide ffastener.

Upon movin'g the apull tab to the full line posi- --tion .andAupon-continuing'the pull .in the direction of .thearrow X, i. e., inthe slide fastener closing direction, the locking member I4 isrocked-about its .ffulcrum -2f :from the Vdash-dot line locking positionyto the full line unlocking position. Being .now unlocked, 'the :slideris free to move Ain closing direction. Upon moving the pull tab to thedash-dot line position and on continuing the pull in the directionindicated by the arrow Y, i. e., in opening direction, the lockingmember I4 rocks about the fulcrum 23 and again swings from the dash-dotline locking position to the full line unlocking po-sition. The lockingmember comes into contact with the slider at 56; and the latter movesfreely in the opening direction.

In the unlocking position, responsive to the pull on the pull tab, theend 28 of the arm 30 of the locking member is pressed toward the bottomor rear face of the slide fastener stringers s, s, whereby the slidefastener stringers and the slide fastener elements f, f are bent outfrom the normal path and position. The forces derived from the tendencyof the slide fastener stringere and slide fastener elements to resumethe normal path and position move the locking member back to its lockingposition as soon as the pull on the tab is released. This self -lockingtendency makes the slider of the present invention an automatic lockslider. The backward or return movement of the locking member to thelocking position is accomplished by forces exerted on the end 28 (areaof application) of the locking member arm 38. These forces comprise africtional force, being effective during the operation of the slider andbeing due to the sliding movement of the slide fastener elementsrelative to the area of application, and a direct pressure, the latterbeing due to two different kinds of resiliency of the slide fastener nowto be described.

According to our Patent No. 2,360,437, use is made of the slide fastenerresiliency due to a deflection along a line transversely of the slidefastener (flexural force of the slide fastener). For this purpose adepression is provided in the slider body opposite the area ofapplication. In said patent, it is disclosed that with such depressionor concavity the stringers are caused to bend out of the normal pathwhereby the deflected slide fastener elements engage the area ofapplication with an increased pressure. In the construction of thepresent invention, the opening I 6 takes the place of the depression orconcavity described in the said patent. The slide fastener stringers arebent out into the opening IS, and consequently the slide fastenerelements, due to the tendency of the slide fastener to straighten out,contact the area of application with increased force.

According to this invention use is also .made of the tendency ofinterlocked slide fastener elements to straighten out when forciblyflexed along the longitudinal center line of the slide fastener, that isto say, when flexed rotationally about said line. This tendency(rotational force of the slide fastener) additionally helps increase thedirect pressure. The rotational deflection is produced by the shape ofthe end 28 of the locking member, the inner face of which is reverselycurved from the medial plane thereof as best shown in Fig. 10B. Theslide fastener elements when moving in the direction of the arrow X(Fig. l), while the slider moves in the opposite direction Y to open theslide fastener, are forced to flex about the longitudinal center line ofthe slide fastener. In Figs. 10A, 10B and 10C, the course of thisrotational deflection is illustrated schematically. In moving the sliderin. opening direction or in the direction of the arrow Y, the end 28 ofthe locking member arm 33 comes into contact with the rear face of theoppositely moving slide fastener elements. In Fig. 10A, two suchinter-engaged slide fastener elements f, f are shown while approximatelycoinciding with the plane of the line I of Fig. 1. The slide fastenerelements in this position lie horizontally in the slide fastener channelC and are in full contact with the rear slider half I2. When the slideris moving along it will contact the slide fastener elements in the planeof the line 2 of Fig. 1. From Fig. 10B, it will be seen that in thisposition two adjacent interlocked elements are raised in the channel Cwhereby the head ends of the elements are raised to a much greaterextent than are the leg ends. The raising action is performed, as ismost clearly shown, by the arm 30 Iof the locking member. In Fig. 10C,illustrating the position along the line 3 of Fig. 1, two slide fastenerelements are shown as again lowered in the channel but separated by thearm 30 which at that place forms a continuation of the slider neck.

The Figs. 10A, 10B, and 10C are explanatory of the force due to therotational flexure of the slide fastener stringers while the lockingmember is in. unlocking position. However, attention is called to thefact that provision may be made for rotational fiexure of the slidefastener stringers with the locking member in locking position. Suchconstructional feature has the advantage that the force caused by therotational turn of the slide fastener elements may be sufiicient to keepthe slider locked in case the latter is used in an. upside-down positionwhere the dependent pull tab gravitationally tends to unlock the slider,or when used under similar conditions.

Thus'the direct pressure exerted on the area of application at 23 of thelocking member by the slide fastener stringere is due to flexing of theslide fastener stringers along a line trans'- versely of the length ofthe slide fastener and to flexing along a medial line longitudinally ofthe slide fastener.

In describing the exemplification of the invention as shown in. Figs.1-10C, it should be stressed that the slide fastener elements whilesliding in the slider channel not only produce friction at the area 28but also at the area 28' (Figs. 1 and 7). The area 28 is on that part ofthe arm 30 which crosses the slider channel. Since the locking member isso disposed that said part of the arm 3B crossing the slider chan.- nelforms a continuation Vof the slider neck, the slide fastener elementscontact both the area 2B and 28. Accordingly, the rear side walls, aswell as the head ends of the slide fastener elements, come intofrictional contact with the locking member. This structure thus improvesthe self-locking qualities of the slider and also results in a smootherclosing movement, the latter advantage being due to the fact that slidefastener elements, when moving in the directions of the arrows Z in Fig.2, strike against the locking member and tend to keep same in unlockingposition. The resultant force applied at both areas of application 28and 28 may be any one of the single forces, such as, frictional force,iiexural force, rotational force, or any combination of these singleforces. The slider is preferably constructed so as to obtain as full aneffect of all the forces as possible.

When the slide fastener stringers are subjected to a cross pull, theslide fastener elements are forced in the direction of the arrow X, andthe slide fastener elements in turn force the locking member towards thefulcrurn 2G. The effect of raising the position of this fulcrum by meansof the lug I8, which maybe termed a buttress fulis pressed'dovv-nwardlby atheislide fastener string- `ers, the Aunder surlfaces Z22 of thelocking .member `ctinieinto contact with the front surface-25 of theslider and Afthe llockingmember is free to rock about'the fulcrum 23.The base fulcrum 2-3 is,

"therefore, -eperatiVe during the transition of the f 'locking 1memberfrom the vunlocking 'tothe locking position. L'Ihe lbaise lfulcrum ispreferably not raised, this in order to .insure ithe 'movement ofttheloclr'ing teeth substantially perpendicular to the travel of theslide vfastener stringers. the ulcrurn 23 lis operative, 'the buttressfulcrum is inoperative (in fact, .there may lbe fno :contact at allatie) `-InFig. 1l, the application 'of 'the invention 'to :a Weldedslider type is shown. This `modiiied xconstructional for-m lis lsimilarto the construction of'Figs. 1 Ito 110C. 'Two slider 'halves '545 :and58 are secured vtogether by 'being spot welded at v't'l'i'eir wide endsat Si). The locking member 62, which may -be manufactured in anysuitable f "way, is provided with :only one tooth Et and is 'looselysupported `by .a vlug 65 .on the front slider half 5B. In theconstruction here-illustrated, the two 'ulcra previously 'described :lieVin the 'terminus T61 of 'the ,-lug '65. pari-ts of the slider is'carried out by Welding the 'slider halves together 'and by putting thelocking member into'place through ian opening ..66 in thelower sliderhalf. The locking member, when projected upon the area of the opening66, lbeing larger"thanlsaidarea,isinserted ina curve. The y*pull 'isattached xto the .locking member preferably 5after inserting same I:intothe slider. The locking member lis shown 'in 'full .lines in theunlockingposition and insda'sh-dotted lines in the locking position. Thelocking member is provided, :as before, with 'an application varm 68voperating as described withthestructure fof Figs. i to 10C.

'The `construction and operation of vthe autoin fthe rmain tbe `Iully4apparent from the 'above i detailed description Ythereof. In ithesestructural "forms Aci" our :lock slider, `the locking member is -sodisposed-and llformed :as 'not lto interfere with tthe pin member of faseparate 'bottom 'stop or? with 'long ftop stops entering the sliderchannel.

'The arms'of'the lever locking member a'ct -on 'tionee'i the .neck ordiamond of the :slider :and is 1localized"along the longitudinal medianregion fof 'the slider. 'This'part ofthe flockingmemberlis i thus in'anon-interfering position and is located to^eXert the proper5i r'ces in-b'oth v(directionand amount on the operation =f the "locking means.

LAYSpacedly separated fu'lcra, 'one `v`for operation inthelockingconditi'on and the other for operation in the unlockingconditioniare desirably provided; 'the 'buttress 'ulcrum is located awayfrom the y stringers to assist 'the locking condition fandjthel'ers'f'toassist the'unlokingscondition The len-ing The assembly ofthe'f.

Lil

F8 member vis '.desirably provided with' a plurality of .applicationareas, Vone tfor contacting `the faces of ithe elements .and the 'other'for -engaging the :heads of the elements. All of the improved .fresults.described are thereby achieved.

We have :shown 'our invention in preferred emfbndiment-s; Aand it 'willbe understood :that -many changes .may be made in -theconstructionandarmangement of the parts thereof vwithout depart- ?ing .from thespirit :of the invention Idened in the inllovving rclaims.

Weiclainrz il. `'automatic lock slider for .slide fastenerscomprising-.a slider having 'a slider .channelfor the slide fastenerstringers `and a locking .member mounted on 'the slider, -said lockingvmember con- Asisting .of a two-armed :lever fulcrumed on -the sliderandlhavingfboth of its arms .projecting-into thes'slider channel, @onearm of the lever having riallocking tooth and the otherarm having apoint -of -lever ,-application, v.the locking tooth and :point of leverapplication extending into the channel lon-'opposite sides or Tfaces .of.the stringers in -said Achannel, the fastener elements on saidstringers engaging `vthe 'point of lever `application causing 'thelocking vlever .to rock onits fulcrum rand move the locking tooth into`engagement vwith another ifastener element on the stringers .and thusau- `tornatically lock the slider, Sand means lon fsa'id lever operativefor 'rocking the .lever :in its opposite 4direction to disengage 'thelocking tooth and unlock the slider.

The automatic lockslider of claiml in which ithe lever is ful'crumed onthe front of the slider,

'its 'locking tooth `extends in'to th'e vslider channel 'at 'the iront-of the slider and its .point 'of appli- V@cation extends xin'to thelslider channel at the =rear l'of the slider.

' 3. Thelautomaticflock slider of claim linvvhich the lever 'isfulcrumed fon rthe front of the rslider, xits locking Ttooth arm extends'into the slider 'channel at 'the front o'f the Yslider and its `otherarmextends int'o the `'slider lchannel 'at vthe rear "of the slider.

Lil. The 'automatic ylock slider of claim 1in which the lever isiul'crumed at the lfront of 'the slider, its ylocking tooth arm extendsinto the slider channel at the "front of Athe slider and its other arm'extends into the slider channel 'at the rear of the vslider A'and islocalized along a longitudinal medial region of the slider.

`5. The automatic lock 'slider of-claim '1 in which -the said `other armof the lever is localized along a longitudinal medial region of theslider.

"6. An lautomatic lock slider for slide fasteners comprising aslider'havingfa front Wall and arear Wall secured together at one end toform aneck and 'having asliderchannelfor the slide fastener stringers,and'a'locking member mounted on the slider, saidlocking memberconsisting of a twoarmed lever fulcrumed on the slider at its neck endand having both of its arms projecting into the slider channel, one armof the lever 'having Va locking tooth and the other having a point of"lever application, thelockin'g tooth arm and point Vdffleverapplication arm extending into the chan- 'nel on opposite sides or,faces vof the stringers in said channel, with 'the latter arm`llocalized 'to form a continuation of the slider Vneck,jthe fas-*tene'r elements on said stringers engaging the Apoint of leverrapplication causing `the -locking Elever to rocken its 'fulcrum andmove the locking-tooth into engagementwith another fastener element onthe fstringers and A'thus automatically lock :the slider, and means onsaid ll-lever operative for rocking the lever in its opposite directionto disengage the locking to-oth and unlock the slider.

7. The automatic lock slider of claim 6 in Which the lever is fulcrumedat the front of the slider, its locking tooth arm extends into theslider channel at the front of the slider and its other arm extends intothe slider channel at the rear of the slider and is localized along alongitudinal medial region or the slider.

8. An automatic lock slider for slide fasteners comprising a sliderhaving a front Wall and a rear Wall secured together at one end to forma neck and having a slider channel for the slide fastener stringers, anda locking member mounted on the slider, said locking member consistingof a two-armed lever fulcrumed on the slider and having both of its armsprojecting into the slider channel, one arm of the lever having alocking tooth and the other arm of the lever having a point of leverapplication, the said other arm of the lever being localized along alongitudinal medial region of the slider and forming a continuation ofthe slider neck, the fastener elements on said stringers engaging thepoint of y,

lever application causing the locking lever to rock on its fulcrum andmove the locking tooth into engagement with another fastener element onthe stringers and thus automatically lock the slider, and means on saidlever operative for rocking the lever in its opposite direction todisengage the locking tooth and unlock the slider.

9. The automatic lock slider of claim 8 in which the lever is fulcrumedon the front of the slider at its neck or upper end, the locking toothextends into the slider channel at its lower end and the point ofapplication extends into the slider channel in a region intermediatesaid ends.

10. The automatic lock slider of claim 1 in which said other arm isshaped medially thereof and yof the slider to flex the stringersrotationally about a medial longitudinal line as the stringers passthrough the slider in engagement with said arm.

11. The automatic lock slider of claim l in which said other arm isreversely curved from a medial plane thereof to flex the stringererotationally about a medial longitudinal line as the stringers passthrough the slider in engagement with said arm.

12. An automatic lock slider for slide fasteners comprising a sliderhaving a slider channel for the slide fastener stringers and a lockingmember mounted on the slider, said locking member consisting of atwo-armed lever iulcrumed on the slider and having both of its armsprojecting into the slider channel, one arm of the lever having alocking tooth and the other arm having a point of lever application, thelocking tooth arm extending into the slider channel at the front of theslider on one side or face of the stringers and point of leverapplication arm extending into the channel at the rear of the slider onthe opposite side or face of the stringere in said channel, the fastenerelements on said stringers engaging the point of lever application armcausing the locking lever to rock on its fulcrum and move the lockingtooth into engagement with another fastener element on the stringers andthus automatically lock the slider, and means on said lever operativefor rocking the lever in its opposite direction to disengage the lockingtooth and unlock the slider, the said other arm being shaped mediallythereof and of the slider to flex the lll stringers rotationally about amedial line as the stringers pass through the slider in engagement withsaid arm.

13. The automatic lock slider of claim 12 in which the slider isprovided with a front wall opening, the said locking member beingmovable in said opening, and in which engagement of the slide fastenerswith said other arm ilexes the stringers transversely of their lengthfor movement into said opening.

14, The automatic lock slider of claim 1 in which the lever is fulcrumedon the front of the slider, its locking tooth extends into the sliderchannel at the front of the slider and its point of application extendsinto the slider channel at the rear of the slider, and in which theslider is provided with a front wall opening, the said locking memberbeing movable in said opening, and in which engagement of the slidefasteners with said other arm flexes the stringere transversely of theirlength for movement into said opening.

15. The automatic lock slider of claim 1 in which the slider is providedwith a double fulcrum seat for the locking member, one operative whenthe slider is moved to open said slide fastener Stringer by a cross-pulland the other operative when said locking tooth is seated against afastener element to lock the slider.

16. The automatic lock slider of claim l in which the slider has a frontwall provided with two spaced fulcrum seats for the locking member, onefulcrum seat comprising a buttress member on said front wall operativewhen the slider is moved to open said slide fastener stringers by a lcross-pull, and the other fulcrum seat comprising a base member on saidfront wall operative when the locking tooth is seated against a fastenerelement to lock the slider.

17. The automatic lock slider of claim 8 in which the slider has a frontwall provided with two spaced fulcrum seats for the locking member, onefulcrum seat comprising a buttress member on said front wall operativewhen the slider is moved to open said slide fastener stringers by across-pull, and the other fulcrum seat cornprising a base member on saidfront wall operative when the locking tooth is seated against a fastenerelement to lock the slider.

18. The automatic lock slider of claim l in which the said other arm hasan extended region of lever application including a part for contactingthe sides of the fastener elements and a part for engaging the heads ofthe fastener elements.

19, The automatic lock slider of claim 6 in which the rear Wall of theslider is provided with an opening for insertion into the slider of thelocking member.

WILLIAM MIKULAS. LESTER L. JONES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,322,826 Carlile June 29, 19432,360,437 Mikulas et al. Oct. 17, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number CountryDate 648,831 Germany Aug. 11, 1937

